SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 36
Amendment No. 1 Barcode 461470
CHAMBER ACTION
Senate House
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11 The Committee on Comprehensive Planning recommended the
12 following amendment:
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14 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
15 Delete everything after the enacting clause
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17 and insert:
18 Section 1. The facts stated in the preamble to this
19 act are found and declared to be true.
20 Section 2. The Miami-Dade County Commission is
21 authorized and directed to appropriate from funds of the
22 county not otherwise appropriated and to draw a warrant in the
23 sum of $300,000 payable to Latisha Snell, as guardian of
24 Jonathan Snell, as compensation for injuries and damages
25 sustained by Jonathan Snell, minor child of Latisha Snell, due
26 to the negligence of Miami-Dade County.
27 Section 3. The Miami-Dade County Commission is
28 authorized and directed to appropriate from funds of the
29 county not otherwise appropriated and to draw a warrant in the
30 sum of $37,000 payable to Latisha Snell, as guardian of Erika
31 Snell, as compensation for injuries and damages sustained by
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 36
Amendment No. 1 Barcode 461470
1 Erika Snell, minor child of Latisha Snell, due to the
2 negligence of Miami-Dade County.
3 Section 4. The governmental entity responsible for
4 payment of the warrant shall pay to the Florida Agency for
5 Health Care Administration the amount due under section
6 409.910, Florida Statutes, prior to disbursing any funds to
7 the claimant. The amount due the agency shall be equal to all
8 unreimbursed medical payments paid by Medicaid up to the date
9 upon which this bill becomes a law.
10 Section 5. After payment of attorneys' fees, costs,
11 and medical bills, the balance of the moneys appropriated
12 shall be used to purchase an annuity for each child. Each
13 child shall be eligible to receive periodic payments from his
14 or her annuity upon reaching the age of majority.
15 Section 6. This act shall take effect upon becoming a
16 law.
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19 ================ T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ===============
20 And the title is amended as follows:
21 Delete everything before the enacting clause
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23 and insert:
24 A bill to be entitled
25 An act relating to Miami-Dade County; providing
26 for the relief of Jonathan Snell, a minor, and
27 Erika Snell, a minor, by and through their
28 mother and natural guardian, Latisha Snell;
29 providing for an appropriation to compensate
30 them for injuries and damages sustained as a
31 result of the negligence of Miami-Dade County;
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 36
Amendment No. 1 Barcode 461470
1 providing for the use of such funds; providing
2 for payment of costs, attorneys' fees, and
3 outstanding medical bills; providing an
4 effective date.
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6 WHEREAS, on May 26, 1998, 20-month-old Jonathan Snell
7 and his sister, Erika Snell, age 3, were both run over by a
8 Miami-Dade County bus, causing severe injuries to their lower
9 extremities, and
10 WHEREAS, while the children were positioned on a grassy
11 median off the roadway, the bus, upon making a right-hand turn
12 too sharply, jumped the curb with its rear wheels and ran over
13 the children, and
14 WHEREAS, the incident, which occurred at the
15 intersection of Northwest 14th Avenue and 183rd Street in
16 Miami-Dade County, Florida, was witnessed by several
17 independent persons and responsibility for the negligence of
18 the bus operator was not contested, and
19 WHEREAS, multiple surgical procedures were performed on
20 both children at Jackson Memorial Hospital by a skilled
21 orthopedic surgeon, Steven Stricker, M.D., and each child has
22 been left with permanent impairment and scarring, and
23 WHEREAS, a lawsuit for damages was brought against
24 Miami-Dade County by and through the children's mother and
25 guardian, Latisha Snell, and after extensive discovery just
26 prior to trial, the case was settled during a second mediation
27 in exchange for Miami-Dade County's support of a claim bill,
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29 WHEREAS, Miami-Dade County agreed to the entry of a
30 final judgment for Jonathan Snell in the amount of $400,000
31 and for Erika Snell in the amount of $137,000, and the county
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 36
Amendment No. 1 Barcode 461470
1 has partially satisfied the final judgment by paying $100,000
2 for the benefit of each child in accordance with the limits
3 established under s. 768.28, Florida Statutes, NOW, THEREFORE,
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